Belgian minister launches campaign in Moldova to deter asylum seekers

Belgium’s asylum and migration minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt is set to travel to Moldova on Sunday as part of a campaign to discourage asylum applications, which have surged since 2020, primarily from economically vulnerable Roma communities.

Belgian minister of asylum and migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), will embark on a visit to Moldova on Sunday to lead a deterrence campaign aimed at curbing the influx of asylum seekers from the Eastern European country. The visit comes in response to an increase in asylum applications from Moldova since 2020, mostly from the Roma community seeking shelter during the winter months.

Prior to 2020, asylum applications from Moldova were a rarity. However, over the past five years, Belgian immigration authorities have registered approximately a thousand applications annually. 

These applications tend to peak during the winter. Roma individuals from northern Moldova, struggling with high energy costs exacerbated by the war in neighbouring Ukraine, arrive in Belgium to seek refuge. Most applicants aim to stay in reception centres throughout the colder months before returning home.

”Belgium cannot be a destination where people settle during the winter to exploit our already strained reception and asylum system”

Minister Van Bossuyt emphasised that the majority of these asylum claims are unlikely to succeed, as Moldova is classified as a safe country of origin. “Belgium cannot be a destination where people settle during the winter to exploit our already strained reception and asylum system”, she stated. “Those without protection rights occupy spaces that could be used by individuals genuinely in need, while our society bears the cost of support that leads nowhere.”

During her visit, Van Bossuyt plans to meet with her Moldovan counterpart, Roma community representatives, the media, and officials from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The campaign aims to convey that Belgium’s accelerated “fast-track” procedure already places Moldovan asylum seekers directly on the path to repatriation, given the low recognition rate for their claims.

^{Belgium’s asylum and migration minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT}